The present invention relates to a chamber lamp socket attached to the inside of a chamber of a refrigerator, and a refrigerator provided with this chamber lamp socket.
In a thermostatic chamber or a household refrigerator, a chamber lamp socket is disposed in an appropriate position in a chamber. Moreover, a mouthpiece of the chamber lamp which lights at a time when an insulating door opens is engaged with a lamp holder of the chamber lamp socket to constitute a chamber lamp device (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,408,392).
Additionally, in the above-described chamber lamp device, the engagement of the mouthpiece with the lamp holder loosens owing to vibrations at the time when the refrigerator door opens or closes, vibrations due to an operation of a compressor constituting a refrigeration cycle, or the like, and the chamber lamp does not light at the time when the door opens in some case.
Moreover, refrigerators increase in which combustible hydrocarbon-based refrigerant (butane, isobutene, propane or the like) is used in a refrigeration cycle constituted by connecting a compressor, a condenser, and an evaporator via pipes to form a refrigerant circulating path. Furthermore, in a case where the refrigerant leaks from the refrigeration cycle in the refrigerator in which the combustible refrigerant is used, when the chamber lamp loosens and sparks are generated between the mouthpiece and the lamp holder, there is a fear that the sparks cause ignition on the leaked refrigerant.
To solve the problem, a refrigerator is known in which an insulating portion of a socket main body is provided with a collar portion to be closely attached to a glass tube of the chamber lamp to reduce the looseness of the chamber lamp, and the mouthpiece is physically separated from a contact portion of the lamp holder to prevent invasion of the combustible refrigerant (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-164138).
However, even in this type of refrigerator, the chamber lamp loosens in rare cases. To solve the problem, it is proposed that the collar portion be formed to be large, and a closely attached area with respect to the glass tube be enlarged. However, in this case, a large force is required for the engagement of the chamber lamp, and operations to attach and detach the chamber lamp become laborious.
Furthermore, in this type of refrigerator, when the collar portion is closely attached to the glass tube of the chamber lamp for many years, both of the collar portion and the glass tube stick to each other. When they are removed from each other once, this state returns to an original state.
The chamber lamp is usually positioned in an inner portion of the chamber of the refrigerator. Therefore, in the refrigerator at a time when several years have passed after the refrigerant was purchased, the chamber lamp expires. To change the lamp, a user stretches out his arm into the chamber to manually hold, turn, and detach the chamber lamp. In this case, the collar portion sticks to the glass tube of the chamber lamp. Therefore, the user has to stretch out his arm, manually hold the glass chamber lamp, and apply such a sufficient force as to prevent this glass chamber lamp from being broken in detaching the chamber lamp. This is very difficult.